home cooked dinners by the season

Grilled Corn and Dungeness Crab Chowder

Grilled corn. I am posting another recipe using it because it’s just so darn good when used with the right ingredients. This recipe is actually a repost of one of my favorite ones from a few years ago that I recently made for dinner and modified by eliminating the bacon as I thought it took away from the corn and crab flavor.

The flavor of the chowder should be all about the slightly smoky grilled sweet corn and Dungeness crab. I prefer to use my outdoor grill to cook the corn, but a grill pan on your stovetop or under a broiler will work too. You can grill the corn the night before, cut the kernels off the cob and refrigerate them to make it easier to put the chowder together the next day just before dinner. Green onions rather than yellow are more mild so as to not overwhelm the corn and crab flavors. There’s just a touch of fresh chopped thyme to give it a light herb flavor.

Whether you use milk, half and half or whipping cream for simmering the potatoes is a personal preference. I don’t like mine too rich so I use mostly milk with some water and whipping cream. To keep the soup a little on the thin side I’ve only used a few tablespoons of flour to thicken it. If you prefer it thicker, add a few more tablespoons of flour.

Making this soup is a rather short process. You should be able to have it on the table in one hour from start to finish.

Cook corn on the grill, turning once or twice during cooking until kernels are lightly charred and corn is softened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill and allow cooling, then cut kernels off the cob; set aside. Alternatively, the corn can be cooked in a grill pan over medium heat on the stovetop or under a preheated broiler.

Melt butter over medium heat in a medium size stockpot; add onions and cook and stir until softened, about 2 minutes. Add potatoes and flour and stir. Add milk, water, cream, thyme and a big pinch of salt; bring just to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add corn and crab and bring back to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.